AlvaroMorata

BIOGRAPHY

Alvaro Morata completed a transfer from Real Madrid to the Blues on 21 July 2017. A strong, quick and skilful forward adept at leading the line and bringing his team-mates into play, Morata’s movement on and off the ball make him a constant threat to opposition defenders, whether he is running at speed from deep or looking to strike in the 18-yard box.

Morata made his debut for Real Madrid shortly after his 18th birthday having impressed for their youth teams and began to feature regularly during the 2012/13 campaign. He provided a fine assist for Karim Benzema in an El Clasico victory that season, as well as scoring his first goal for the club - a winner at Levante.

In the next campaign, Morata scored eight league goals, averaging one every 70 minutes under the stewardship of former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti. He also opened his Champions League account that year as Real won the trophy for the 10th time. In the final, Morata was introduced with his side a goal down; they ended up beating their great city rivals Atletico 4-1.

Juventus, with Antonio Conte at the helm, moved to sign the striker in the summer of 2014 and he was a regular as they continued their dominance of Italian football, although Conte had moved on to the Italy national team job before the new signing played.

Juve comfortably won Serie A in 2015 and 2016, with Morata prominent. He also helped them reach the Champions League final in his first season in Turin, but this time the Spaniard ended up on the losing side despite equalising from close range against Barcelona in Berlin.

Real exercised a buy-back option in the summer of 2016 and he enjoyed the most profitable season of his career to date on his return to the Bernabeu, scoring 20 goals in all competitions and winning La Liga and the Champions League, when he came on as a late substitute against his former club.

He made his Chelsea debut as a substitute in the Community Shield against Arsenal in August 2017 and scored his first goal having come on at home to Burnley in the next game, albeit in a defeat. Further goals in wins against Everton and Leicester meant his first three for the club were all headers but that was followed by a fine hat-trick off the boot at Stoke in September 2017.

Morata scored with a header back in his native Madrid as Chelsea became the first English team to win away against Atletico.

—Milestone

On Bonfire night 2017, it was Morata who powered a header into the Manchester United net, leaving his international team-mate David De Gea rooted. It was the only goal in a significant win, coming off the back of a disappointing defeat in Rome.

The cross had been supplied by Cesar Azpilicueta, whose supply line for the centre-forward’s goals was becoming one of the features of the season. They combined again for Morata’s 10th Premier League goal on Boxing Day but the end of 2017 and start of 2018 for the striker was affected by injuries and suspensions.

He returned to fitness and scored against Tottenham in the league, as well as in quarter- and semi-final FA Cup wins over Leicester and Southampton respectively. He ended the campaign on the pitch at Wembley as a winner in that competition having featured as a late sub as we got the better of Man United.

International career

Having top scored for Spain as his nation won the Under-19 European Championships in 2011 and the Under-21 Euros in 2013, Morata became a senior Spain international in November 2014 in a match against Belarus.

Later that season he netted his first international goal, in Euro qualifier, and included among the goals he has scored for his country are three at the 2016 European Championship finals, two of them in a convincing victory over Turkey and the other against Croatia

In the early weeks of his Chelsea career, he scored in a World Cup qualification win over Italy.